An Unpredictable Future

The changes in society worldwide are being implemented at ever increased rates, and while not all of a revolutionary nature, certainly portend an unrecognizable future.Islam whether seen as a religion of peace and love or a religion to proselytize the entire world, is a major factor everywhere. While religion in the west is on the decline, Islam seems to be growing. There is no country, of significance, that is not affected. In China, there are 7 ½ million Uygurs, not a significant number compared to the total population, but in conflict with the central Han dominated government. Chechyna, a mountainous state in Russia dominated by Moslems, in recent years fought 2 wars against the central authority. Kashmir, mostly Moslem, a strategic area bordering India, Pakistan and China, is the source of seemingly permanent dissension between Pakistan and India. While Pakistan is primarily Moslem, India, surprisingly enough, has more Moslems than Pakistan as citizens. Turkey and Iran are two Moslem countries, of huge significance in the middle east, where the Israeli and and Palestinian conflict has been waged for over 60 years. Saudi Arabia, a country floating on oil, funds many madrasas (religious schools) in an effort to promote the Islamic religion and along with Egypt is one of the two most influential Arab countries in the Middle East. Africa has many Muslim states, but with the exception of Egypt, does not play much of a part in world politics. Because of the number of Muslim states,they have a disproportionate say in the General Assembly of the United Nations, but are not represented in the Security Council. In the west people looking to better their lives economically represent a solid proportion of the immigrants. They seem to do better in Canada and the United States, as enlightened immigration laws make it easier for them to integrate. Most terrorists, or freedom fighters, as called by Moslem countries practice Islam, and while Islamic countries, at this point are not militarily strong, they gain the attention of the world with attacks on civilian targets. An internal problem in the Islamic religion is the bitter hatred between Shias and Sunnis as represented by Iran and Saudi Arabia. Whether positive or negative remains to be seen, but Islam’s importance is not in doubt.

On the other side of the population spectrum is Israel. A small nation with a Jewish majority situated in the Middle East. Without question, and I believe without bias, easily the most successful country to have entered the United Nations since its inception. Israel is very successful militarily, economically and intellectually. It is the origin of more start up enterprises of any country with the exception of the United States, and if able to defend itself will be a large factor in changing the type of life practiced by people born after the year 2000.

Anti-Semitism has returned in full force, and it is my belief that this perversion of human nature is a permanent fixture in human activity.. How a population of only 14 million people can arouse so much antagonism is beyond belief. Nations and persons wanting to benefit personally use the fictitious threat of Jews as their method of eliciting support.

No area of human endeavor is more affected by swift change than communication. After humans developed language and the skill of putting words in print it was many centuries before the real revolution started. Postal systems, telephone, radio and television followed quickly but pale in comparison to what is happening now. An individual anywhere in the world can communicate with persons thousands of miles away instantaneously using the internet, Facebook,You-tube, twitter and a variety of electronic modes too numerous to mention.. The ability of states to control communications is in doubt and where this new development will lead is impossible to predict.

When you are out in the morning walking to work or to school, 20% of the people are carrying a cup of coffee. Who would have predicted that new restaurants could be successful selling a product sold by everybody? Years ago, when you saw individuals by themselves talking in an auto, you would have suspected mental illness. Of course they have hands free speakers and mobile phones. Recently I saw a young lady at a checkout counter at a large grocery store with both hands in her apron.. I instantly new that she was not allowed to talk on the phone when she was working, so she was texting a message.. When politicians have the courage to face the oil companies, electric cars will replace the present gas guzzlers.

CHANGES ARE COMINGTO OUR LIVES. SOME ARE HERE

1. The Post -. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. All of them are in trouble, world-wide Email, Fed-ex and UPS are taking a lot of their business. Most of your mail is junk mail and bills 2.- The Cheque Britain is laying the groundwork to do away with cheques by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process them. Plastic cards and online transmissions will lead to their demise. This emphasizes the death of the Post Office. If you did not pay bills by mail, it would kill the Post Office. 3. The newspaper- The younger generation simply does not read the newspaper. They certainly don`t subscribe to a daily delivered edition. They will go the way of the milkman. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for pay ,the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. you can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can’t wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you’re holding a gadget instead of a book. 5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don’t need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they’ve always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes. 6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It’s the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is “catalogue items,” meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with, older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, “Appetite for Self-Destruction” by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, “Before the Music Dies.” 7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they’re playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It’s time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix. 8. The “Things” That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in “the cloud”. Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it. If need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest “cloud services”. That means that when you turn on a computer, the internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That’s the good news. But, will you actually own any of this “stuff” or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big “Poof”? Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert. 9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That’s gone. It’s been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the building, and even built into your computer and cell phones. But you can be sure that 24/7, “They” know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And “They” will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. The prices offered will change depending who you are and your profile that is documented. 10. Information. Whether you are writing an essay in school, looking for information about a public person, or even someone not so public, doing a crossword, the information is all there for you in Google or Yahoo. Now suppose you are not sure about the information, go to Snopes to verify. 11. With Skypes and the right piece of sound equipment and a camera yo can see one another and talk over long distances. 12. Uber is just a software tool, they don’t own any cars and are now the biggest taxi company in the world. 13. Air bnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world. They own no hotels. 14. Car Insurance companies will have massive trouble without accidents. No accidents, why buy insurance. Electric cars will make that possible. 15. Electric cars will run on electricity. The use of solar energy is increasing. Cheap electricity will bring cheap desalination of water. All will have cheap, pure, water. 16. Health. There are companies who will build medical devices called “Tricorder” that works with your phone, which can take a retina scan, blood sample and your breath. It then analyzes 54 biomarkers that will identify any disease. Good-bye doctors. 17. The price of a 3D printer came down in 10 years from $18,000. to 400 dollars. By 2027, 10% of everything made will be done by a 3D printer. 18. Work 70-80% of jobs will disappear in the 20 years. Trucks will drive by themselves and deliver what is necessary throughout the day and night. Traffic hold-ups will disappear. So will many police jobs. Robots will do farm work. Insect proteins and taste as well. 19 Education will be by smart phone. By 2020, 70% of all humans will own one. World-class education will really be world-class. 20. Big malls may have reached the end of their growth. Many are closing now. Retailers may have their own warehouse and the public will pay for delivery or pick up what they want.

Its all happening now BELIEVE IT.

4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in our

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2 thoughts on “An Unpredictable Future”

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About Me

I was born in Toronto in 1931 to a wonderful mother who divorced shortly before my birth. I owe a great deal of my success to her. I am Jewish but not at all religious, yet my culture plays an important part of my personality. I attended Harbord Collegiate and U. of T. Faculty of Pharmacy.